So much of baseball is about timing. Batters stand in the on-deck circle, watching the pitcher like a hawk, trying to time his motion. Pitchers throw off-speed stuff, or in more entertaining cases, develop some sort of Johnny Cueto-esque shimmy, to disrupt the batter’s timing. And of course, some players show up at the wrong … Continue reading The Year Of The Card–Wally Bunker, 1969
Presenting The All-“Deadball” Royals
As you are probably aware, the Royals’ Nicky Lopez had a pretty good season, hitting .300/.365/.378 and playing excellent defense. Not bad for a guy who was headed for Omaha out of spring training, only to be granted a reprieve when Adalberto Mondesi suffered an injury. Yet, for all the success Lopez had at the … Continue reading Presenting The All-“Deadball” Royals
The Year Of The Card–Jim Rooker, 1970
Perhaps it is due to the fact that I grew up watching American League baseball, but I much prefer the DH to watching pitchers hit. Sure, it’s fun when someone like Bartolo Colon hits a home run, but plate appearances that consist of strikeouts and mostly-predictable bunts are not my idea of entertainment. However, if … Continue reading The Year Of The Card–Jim Rooker, 1970
The Year Of The Card–Pat Kelly, 1970
I’m certainly guilty of it myself, but I feel like when Royals fans discuss the many trades the team made in the franchise’s early days, we tend to focus on the shrewd ones that helped build the 1976-1980 powerhouse. But, of course, not every trade the Royals made back then turned out to be a … Continue reading The Year Of The Card–Pat Kelly, 1970
The Year Of The Card–Jeff Conine, 1998
I admit up front, this is an unusual entry in this series. Today’s subject did not have a long and storied career in Kansas City, nor did he have a heroic postseason moment for the Royals. But this is a prime example of the old adage that a bad plan is better than no plan, … Continue reading The Year Of The Card–Jeff Conine, 1998
The Year Of The Card–Roger Nelson, 1969
As has been mentioned in this space plenty of times, the expansion-era Royals, led by general manager Cedric Tallis, had a knack for acquiring overlooked players, letting them put up good performances, and then correctly deciding which ones to keep and which to trade for long-term pieces. A fine example of this is Roger Nelson, … Continue reading The Year Of The Card–Roger Nelson, 1969
Talking Trades: Royals Acquire Major Piece In Minor Trade
The Royals famously built their late-1970s teams through a lot of great trades. Many times, those were deals where Kansas City shipped out a veteran for a young player who had been undervalued by his previous team. One such trade, and one that worked out probably better than the Royals ever hoped, came 45 years … Continue reading Talking Trades: Royals Acquire Major Piece In Minor Trade
The Year Of The Card–Jose Lind, 1993
Middle infielders who don’t hit well--it’s a Royals tradition. To be fair, pretty much all of Major League Baseball agreed with that view in the 1970s and 1980s, and the Royals, as an institution, learned they could win even with guys who hit .240 without power, as long as those guys scooped up every grounder … Continue reading The Year Of The Card–Jose Lind, 1993
Filling Out My Royals Hall of Fame Ballot
The Royals announced Tuesday that fans can vote for the team’s Hall of Fame. The fan portion of the balloting equals three votes for each of the the top three vote-getters of the seven players eligible. Since the vote includes living members of the Hall of Fame, some Royals front office staff, team associates who … Continue reading Filling Out My Royals Hall of Fame Ballot
Talking Trades: Royals Pilfer Power From Pittsburgh Pirates
By my count on Baseball Reference, the Royals have made 15 trades with the Pittsburgh Pirates since 1969. Most of those were small potatoes deals, but when the teams have done business at the Winter Meetings, the Royals have done quite well for themselves. We just passed the 50th anniversary of one of those trades, … Continue reading Talking Trades: Royals Pilfer Power From Pittsburgh Pirates
U.L.'s Toothpick 